The Beacon of Hope
by Justified Kid
Summary: The day that hypotheticals become reality, Lucas realizes that Onett Uni and the Fast Track program aren't as polished as the stories say they were. What seemed to be the hopes and dreams of any kid harbors a darker secret within. [The rewrite everyone was promised but never received]


_Trying to compete is useless. I just have to live with the fact that there are some people better than me. Better prosaists, better developers, better everything. And what do I have? Just an imagination. No real structure of life or anything, just a safe haven in my head to make me forget about the sins of life. But even then just imagining all these fictional scenarios where the characters are happy causes me pain. Trapped in a never ending torment inside my own delirium. It's naught all but mad. Now all I could do is laugh..._

 _Pray, somebody save me._

* * *

What's next after graduation? All the adults in my life stressed the importance of thinking about such things. Of course, you'd expect me to say "go to college". That's exactly what I will do I'll probably major in English or Literature, since my sole passion is reading and writing. Although psychology was one of my alternatives, because being able to understand how and why someone acts a certain way is key in creating a story.

Hi there, I'm Lucas. I'm a new junior at this prestigious, yet poorly named college program called the "Fast Track" program. I'm writing to you, the reader, while I stride through the endeavors of college/high school. Physically? I can't risk that. Mentally? More than likely. I just thought you'd be interested in knowing what happens in my life. Well here's to a potentially normal story. I hoping.

Back to the topic at hand. The Fast Track program is essentially taking college level courses while earning both high school and college credits. It originated from about 10 years ago, give or take, when the concept of dual enrollment came out. While it was good for the majority of families, an ambitious student had the risible idea of actually attending college, since all of his courses were at that level already. As expected everyone assumed it was a farfetched idea, but the student went on and attended college for the remainder of his high school years. He graduated valedictorian of his class AND received a general associates degree in the arts. By his success, everyone was hooked on the idea. Parents inundated the unofficial program with enrollment requests, and the sheer number of it made the program official. They've partnered up with colleges across the country and held the record for the highest graduation rate in the country, far exceeding those associated with high school scholarships.

It's any students' dream come true.

But of course, every dream had its nightmare. Not everyone benefited from going here. The youngest person that applied for this program was 12 years old. I've heard multiple stories about him, yet somehow never caught his name. So anyways, one source said that he couldn't handle the pressure and dropped out of the program. Another one said that he was one of the best students, excelling over the upperclassmen. However, the kid met his tragic end by a mysterious cause which led me to believe the upperclassmen had something to do with it. What's really strange was that one of them got arrested after the 12yo went off the grid. The one that caught my ear though was the one that said he bribed his teachers and forged information, and one lucky tip was enough to expel him from the school; this was complimented with the rapid movement of information nowadays, causing him to be shunned out even by his own peers.

Obviously, these were just rumors.

Despite the possibility that most of them being exaggerated or faulty, it does give me inspiration. Everyone's all talking about historical events this, current events that. Nobody ever talked about hypotheticals. Well, except me. I always thought about what it would be like had something gone differently. While I didn't exceed in history class, it came to a point where I couldn't tell fact from fiction, all of my teachers praised my creativity. They even devoted a few days in the month talking about such hypotheticals. It's good to know that everything isn't bound by one truth. It'll be fun to write about my time here.

"Lucas!"

I froze in my seat. I felt a hand on both of my shoulders; on my left was a warm fleshy sensation I liked, the other being the cold metallic steel I hated.

"Are you sleeping with your eyes open again?"

"Get out Claus."

Clus and I were twins. He was the older, stronger, and cooler looking one while I was the more studious and utilitarian one. We weren't that hard to tell apart; Claus was slightly taller and had a somewhat deeper voice. I had the blonde hair and he had the orange hair. I couldn't deal with his carefree nature most of the time, but he's good at heart.

"Sorry, sorry/ There was nothing on the desk, and you know, wouldn't it be more comfortable lying down than sitting up?"

"I'm busy."

"Busy doing what? Writing in your diary?"

"Stop it!"

Claus chuckled as I threw up my hands. He gave me a hug from behind, rubbing his metal arm through my hair.

"G'night donuthead. Make sure you shut the lights."

I heard Claus jump onto the bed. It was almost 10 PM according to the clock. Tomorrow was the first day of my junior year. What new wonders await me? I could only imagine being accepted into the program, but now I can actually live through the program? I should really jot all of my thoughts down. I might burn through a couple of notebooks too!

"Lucas?"

I turned around and saw Mom peering through the doorway. "Are you still up?"

"I'm headed to bed soon." I responded.

"Okay. Just came to remind you how important this opportunity is for you. We- your dad and I, are very proud of you two."

I've heard this lecture everyday over the summer. This chance doesn't come for everyone, so we both needed to seize it. It saves our family a lot of time and money; time that could be spent enjoying the virtues of life, and money that could be used to fund bigger things. We'll be able to start out our adult life ahead of the average John and Jane, and get high paying jobs earlier. All in all, it's just so we don't have to suffer through our lives barely making ends meet. If we spent so much time worrying about living, will we really be able to live?

"I get it, Mom. I'll be fine."

She smiled. "I hope so. Look out for Claus too. Just in cas he..."

"He what?"

"Make sure he doesn't get in trouble."

I nodded as she shut off the lights. I dismounted from my chair and joined my drowsy brother in bed. His position looked rather unnatural; the top half of him lie face down on the bed while the lower half rested on his right leg. On that same leg, his boxer shorts were scrunched up to the top of the leg. Moving carefully, I turned him to lie on his back, straightening the sleeve on his undergarment. I then scooted up closer to him and rested my head on his bicep.

"Thanks Lucas." He muttered.


End file.
